President, ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee

Fergus Maclaren is a Canadian sustainable tourism and cultural heritage management professional with 30 years of experience in North America, Africa, Asia and Europe, with much of his current professional focus involving tourism to World Heritage sites, climate change and the implementation of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals. His role with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), one of the three advisory bodies to UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, which has recently involved him with post-COVID tourism recovery analyses and resiliency framework development.This background is informed by a broad range of tourism planning, destination management and development expertise. His previous professional experience includes: coordinating international meetings and input as the Director of the UN-funded International Year of Ecotourism (IYE); teaching sustainable tourism at McGill University and lecturing on the subject at post-secondary institutions internationally. He currently works in Expert and professional capacities for UNESCO, UNWTO, the Organization of World Heritage Cities, the World Monuments Fund, the Economic Innovation Institute for Africa, and the Heritage and Cultural Society for Africa. He also has his own private consulting firm, MAC-DUFF Tourism | Heritage | Planning.

ICOMOS International Charter for Cultural Heritage Tourism (2022): Reinforcing cultural heritage protection and community resilience through responsible and sustainable tourism management
Adopted by the ICOMOS Annual General Assembly (Bangkok, Thailand) in November 2022.
Fergus Maclaren, President of the International Council on Monuments and Sites ICOMOS

Preamble

Profound growth and disruption in global tourism, including cultural heritage tourism, has necessitated the revision of the ICOMOS International Charter for Cultural Tourism (1999). The process has resulted in this ICOMOS International Charter for Cultural Heritage Tourism (2021): Reinforcing cultural heritage protection and community resilience through responsible and sustainable tourism management (hereinafter “the Charter”), which complements and updates the previous one. In addition to recognizing the intensified tourism use of cultural heritage places and destinations, this Charter addresses increasing concerns about the degradation of cultural heritage along with social, ethical, cultural, environmental and economic rights issues associated with tourism. In this Charter, cultural heritage tourism refers to all tourism activities in heritage places and destinations, including the diversity and interdependence of their tangible, intangible, cultural, natural, past and contemporary dimensions. This Charter recognizes heritage as a common resource, understanding that the governance and enjoyment of these commons are shared rights and responsibilities. Participation in cultural life with access to cultural heritage is a human right. However, some evolved aspects of tourism have constituted fundamentally unsustainable uses of planetary resources, including cultural and natural heritage. This calls for a charter that advocates responsible and diversified cultural tourism development and management contributing to cultural heritage preservation; community empowerment, social resilience and wellbeing; and a healthy global environment. Properly planned and responsibly managed cultural heritage tourism, involving participatory governance with diverse cultures, right-holders and stakeholders, can be a powerful vehicle for the preservation of cultural heritage and sustainable development. Responsible tourism promotes and creates cultural heritage awareness, provides opportunities for personal and community well-being and resilience, and builds respect for the diversity of other cultures. It can therefore contribute to intercultural dialogue and cooperation, mutual understanding, and peace-building.